Duterte stands by DoH chief
PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has stood by Health Secretary Francisco Duque 3rd, telling him he should not resign despite calls from the Senate that he should be charged in connection with the alleged rampant corruption in the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth). On Monday night, the President said he fully trusts Duque.
“Secretary Duque, this is not the time for you to resign,” Duterte told the Health chief in his public address. “I have full trust in you,” he added.
The Department of Health (DoH) secretary thanked Duterte for his continued trust. However, he vented his frustration over the recommendation of the Senate Committee of the Whole that he should be charged along with other PhilHealth officials over the systemic anomalies in PhilHealth. “I have to express my frustration, sir, I hope you don’t mind. Eiyonngangmga
pumirma e nihindimansila ni- recommend e. ‘Yungmga pumirma,hindini- recommend for filing of the cases ( Those people who signed, they were not among those recommended to be charged),” he said, referring to PhilHealth officials who allowed the implementation of the interim reimbursement mechanism (IRM).
As Health Secretary, Duque sits as chairman of PhilHealth.
“Masakitpoiyan, sir, ‘yung hindi kan gap u mir maik aw pa ‘yungi din ada wit,ipinipil it na idawit.Iyon, sir, anghindiko ma tang gap lang sadib di bko. Hindi ak on aka katu lo gd ahil dito (It hurts. I did not sign and yet I am being dragged and implicated. I find this hard to accept. I have lost sleep over this, sir),” the DoH chief told Duterte.
Last week, in his opening statement at the House of Representatives’ investigation into alleged corruption in PhilHealth, Duque said the Senate “made baseless findings on mere allegations.”
“I was impleaded on the IRM when I was not even part of the deliberation and did not sign the resolution,” he told the lawmakers.
Senate President Vicente Sotto 3rd released the report of the Committee of the Whole ( CoW) last week. On Tuesday, he expressed hope that the President would read the Senate’s report on the supposed liability of Duque.
The senators on Monday adopted the report of the CoW which included a recommendation to replace Duque.
‘ Talk to us’
“The President should talk to us and not just listen to the excuses [of Duque]. Better yet, ES (Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea) should have the President read the Senate report,” Sotto said in a text message.
He also took to Twitter to express his sentiment. “Board governs PhilHealth. They disburse P14.8 billion in three pandemic months illegally. [The] DoH Secretary is unmistakably and irreplaceably the chair [ of PhilHealth]. Ano,walas’ya kinalaman ( What, he was not involved)? Aba...( wow) congrats! Billions!!!” he posted.
The Senate chief added, “Perhaps the President is not aware of the facts. All of those who are aware of the illegal transactions are answerable under Article 217 of the Revised Penal Code whether one signed or not. All the more if you are the chairman of the Board governing the agency.”
Sen. Panfilo Lacson said the executive, being an independent and separate branch of government, is not bound by the Senate’s findings.
Asked whether Duterte’s pronouncement defending Duque might affect the investigation of the Department of Justice (DoJ), Lacson said, “I certainly hope not.”
“I would like to think that [ Justice] Secretary [ Menardo] Guevarra’s known probity and strong adherence to the rule of law will prevail over partisanship and other political or personal considerations,” he said.
“While the just adopted Committee of the Whole report contains recommendations involving the filing of charges against several PhilHealth officials including its chairman who is Secretary Duque, it bears watching how the DoJ- led task force will treat those findings and recommendations now that the President has virtually cleared Duque of any wrongdoing,” Lacson said.
“I’m hoping that the DoJ-led task force investigating PhilHealth’s anomalies will continue performing its mandate, guided only by their appreciation of the evidence no matter who is involved, with or without the president’s expressed opinion on Sec Duque,” he added.
Sen. Ana Theresia Hontiveros said the President should take a moment to read the CoW’s report on Duque’s liabilities.
“It makes no sense whatsoever that Duque, ang tanging may institutional memory having worked in the agency in different capacities for 19 years, should remain unscathed,” she said.
“All alleged instances of corruption happened right under his nose for two decades. Either he is complicit or incompetent. Either way, he should be held accountable,” she added. “If we want to clean up PhilHealth we have to go after the big fish, the major backers who continue to benefit from systemic corruption within the agency.”
Sen. Francis Pangilinan also urged Malacañang to heed the call of the Senate and replace Duque as chairman of the InterAgency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID).
“He is damaged goods and cannot hope to be able to effectively lead the country’s already faltering anti- Covid ( coronavirus) campaign.”
“It is long overdue for Malacañang to show decisive leadership and political will by firing Duque and revamping the IATF. Our Senate Resolution 474, which forms part of the basis of the hearings on PhilHealth, sought to hold officials, especially the so-called big fish, accountable. Actualizing this recommendation is a step in this direction,” Pangilinan said. “It’s time to fix what’s broken and the first step is to remove those who have miserably failed to stop the spread of the disease and the massive corruption in the health care system.”